Magnetic Depression and The Griffon
by Cara Lea
Summary: This is a two-shot sequel to my earlier fic 24 Hours Too Late, and directly references the events in said fic. *trigger warning* this references rape. Magnetic Depression is Ruby's reaction to what happened in 24 Hours, and The Griffon will feature Roman's death. Rated M for mature content.
1. Magnetic Depression

This is the sequel to _24 Hours Too Late_ , and directly references said fic. *TRIGGER WARNING* this references a rape, so don't go on from here if you can't handle it. This is _Magnetic Depression_ , _The Griffon_ will come later. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Yang, go!"

Ruby smirked as her sister came flying at her. Last second, she dodged out of the way. "Weiss!" she called. Her teammate came flying forward. Using Myrtenaster, the pale warrior encased Yang's legs in ice before jumping back out of the way. This was the moment to attack. Ruby loaded her weapon, took her aim, and fired.

Blake came swinging in, knocking Ruby off balance just as she fired. Her shot missed Yang by a long shot. The miss gave her sister time to break the ice around her legs and free herself.

Trusting Weiss could handle Yang, Ruby faced Blake, trying to decide how best to attack. Blake's stance left her open on her right hip. Ruby made a decision, fixed her eyes on a point over Blake's left ear, and leaped.

Blake was ready for her. The black-vested faunus leaped into the air, leaving her Shadow behind to take Ruby's hit. Before Ruby had time to readjust, Blake had somersaulted over her and gave her a shot with her weapon straight to the small of her back. The strike sent her flying. She hit the far wall and fell to the ground on her knees.

She looked up and found herself staring into her own, silver-eyed reflection.

Immediately she was back in the room, staring into her own eyes as Roman ran his hands along her back. He laughed maniacally, his footsteps pounding in her brain as he walked toward her. Her pulse increased, she began to hyperventilate as he leaned down to whisper straight into her ear. The skin there tingled as his breath warmed it. "Ruby."

"No, no," she whimpered. "I'm not here. I'm in the gym with my teammates."

He sneered, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. There was _pressure_ on her shoulder. She could _feel_ it, and it felt very real. Ruby lost her head entirely. She whirled in panic, lashing out with her weapon, putting as much force into the hit as she could physically manage.

In horror, she watched Weiss fly across the room and his the wall hard enough to crack it. Realization struck her. It had been Weiss calling her name. Weiss's hand on her shoulder.

All three girls raced across the room to where Weiss had fallen. They got there as the white-haired girl sat up, holding her head. "Weiss, are you okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm fine," Weiss snapped. She turned and glared at Ruby, who was uncomfortably aware that her teammates were now staring at her. "What was that?"

"I-I'm sorry! You scared me and- I didn't mean to!" Weiss began to stand up.

"You blindly attacked me with all your might!"

Ruby felt as if her innards had turned into particularly wiggly bugs. "I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to. You just, scared me."

Weiss narrowed her eyes but didn't answer.

"Hey guys, maybe we should just stop for the day," Yang suggested.

Blake sounded agreeable. "Well, it's not like we haven't spent a lot of time practicing for the tournament."

Weiss was nodding. "Yeah, maybe _some_ of us need a break." She glared pointedly at Ruby.

Ruby looked around at her teammates, her hand on her arm. She didn't want this to happen this way. She wished they would continue practicing as if nothing had happened. Clearly, her teammates needed space from her though. Who was she to deny them this? "Okay," she agreed. "Why don't you guys go ahead. I think I'll go for a run."

She turned without waiting for a response and marched across the gym. Without a backward glance, she opened the door and stepped out. It wasn't her intention to be cold to her own teammates. She simply didn't want them to question her too closely about why she had attacked her partner.

Shame coursed through her, stronger than ever before. She had thought she was passed all of that! Sure, she still had nightmares, and of course she avoided looking at her reflection whenever she could, but she hadn't been so freaked out like that since nearly after it had happened. There had been a brief period of time there when she was sure her teammates must have known. At least once a week, she had had flashbacks. When she looked in a mirror, whenever her hair brushed against her ears, whenever someone touched her. It had taken her weeks to get passed this, and it hadn't happened in an instant.

Nightmares that kept her up at night continually woke up her teammates. Afraid that they would figure out what was happening, Ruby had decided she needed to avoid sleep. For a short while, she'd tried to keep herself awake all night. Of course, she'd eventually fallen into a very deep sleep, where she hadn't dreamed at all. That had given her the brilliant idea to get sleep medicine to help her fall straight into deep, dreamless sleep.

It had been at the doctor, getting her medicine that things fell apart again. The heater turned on, tickling the back of her neck. In an instant she'd been back in that room, with _him_. Unable to break the vision, she'd ran. Down the street, in an alley, behind a dumpster. She'd sat there, tears pouring down her face as she realized she was well and truly trapped by her own skin. Never before in her life had she ever experienced anything like this. She was sick of it all, sick of hiding from herself, sick of the flashbacks, the nightmares, the constant feeling of disgust with her own body. She wanted out of her body, her mind. Sobbing, kneeling behind the dumpster, she began to claw at her own skin in an attempt to escape.

Worked up as she was, it had taken her some time to figure out that she wasn't alone. One minute she was on her hands and knees, crying Then she'd lifted her arm to wipe her eyes, and realized there was someone sitting with her. A trill of panic threw her caused her to jump back onto her knees, looking with wide panicked eyes at her companion.

She was obviously a junkie of some kind. Her eyes were a yellowish color around green irises, her skin saggy. It was clear she had once been quite pretty, but age and lack of care had taken it's toll. She looked to be in her late fifties, although Ruby couldn't be sure which was aging and which was bad habits that caused this appearance.

The woman didn't say anything at first, just sat there pulling at her cuticles nervously. Eventually, Ruby sat down next to the woman, equally silent. She wasn't sure if she had ran in where the woman was sitting, or if she had been followed. Maybe the woman usually hung out here and Ruby was invading.

"You've been hurt," the woman said at last. She didn't look up from her nervous picking. Her voice shook, as if she was nervous to be speaking up.

"I- " Ruby paused mid-answer. She didn't want to talk to anyone about what'd happened, let alone this grubby stranger. "I'm fine."

That was quite a lie, considering how she'd just had a mental breakdown right in front of this woman. She turned her head to look, not at Ruby directly, but rather at the ground in front of Ruby. Her gray-blond hair bobbed as she looked. Her breathing was ragged, as if she was sick. "I was hurt, too," she whispered. "Long, deep pain. Right here." She touched her chest.

Ruby looked at her, curious now. "What happened?"

The woman winced, turning away as if Ruby had said something disgusting. She didn't answer, but Ruby understood. After all, the woman was right, she _had_ been hurt. She'd been torn in two. Not physically, but in her heart. Ever since her night with Roman, she'd been more than just disturbed by nightmares and flashbacks. Everything about her had been different, almost like she was a different person.

A sense of hopelessness filled her. Her entire life had been changed by what she'd been through. "What do we do?" she asked, hot tears flowing down her cheeks again.

A shock of surprise filled her when the woman took her hand. Ruby stared straight ahead, concentrating on the wall opposite of her to stop herself from pulling away. "You," the woman said. Ruby stared at her sidelong. "Get help."

With that, the woman patted Ruby's hand, stood up, and began to walk away down the alley. "Wait," Ruby called after her, standing up herself. "What about you? Where are you going?"

But the woman did not stop, and disappeared before Ruby could follow her. Many times had Ruby wondered what had happened to the girl after their talk. Where was she now? Was she coping any better?

While the talk with the woman had been brief, and entirely uncomfortable, it had had a profound effect. Ruby forced herself to go back to the doctor, not only to get her medicine, but to get a full checkup. She didn't tell the doctor everything. She didn't need to. All she needed was to know that she was physically healthy.

Afterwards, she had managed to get by by focusing on her schoolwork and training. It seemed to be working. Slowly, she was getting her life back.

Everyday she went to the gym, concentrating on her workout so she wouldn't see her reflection in the mirror. This was good practice so she wouldn't destroy the bathroom mirrors anymore. At night, she studied really late into the evening, only going to bed after everyone else had fallen asleep. Before bed, she took her pill and meditated, concentrating on what she'd done that day so she wasn't thinking about Roman anymore. That didn't stop the nightmares, but she almost never woke her teammates anymore.

Even though it helped her keep her head, Ruby's method wasn't entirely affective. She would laugh sometimes, but she very rarely found anything funny. Fighting had become a necessity, something she constantly craved, but it wasn't fun anymore. Schoolwork was incredibly dull, even if it distracted her from her flashbacks. And still, she couldn't tolerate anybody touching her. Maybe getting her life back was the wrong phrase. Ruby had her routine, and it worked pretty okay. But when it came down to it, she didn't feel like herself anymore. She certainly wasn't happy.

Happy or not, everything had been going quite smoothly since her talk with that stranger. Until today. A flash of frustration filled her, bringing tears to her eyes. Why did she have to go to pieces like that? What was wrong with her that she couldn't handle her own reflection? It had been _months_ since that night. Shouldn't she be over it by now?

She froze, looking at the ground but not really seeing it. She doubted she'd ever really get over it. It would be nice, though, if she could look in a mirror without going to pieces.

With a jolt, Ruby looked at the clock. It was pretty late. Her teammates were probably asleep by now. If she was quiet enough, she'd be able to sneak in and go to bed without any awkward questions.

…

Ruby quietly opened the door. Careful not to disturb her teammates, she walked in.

Behind her, the door slammed and the light clicked on. It took Ruby a moment to realize what she was seeing. Weiss and Blake were sitting together on Weiss's bed. Yang was standing behind her, having shut the door and turned the light on.

Feeling the eyes of all her teammates on her, Ruby froze. Her stomach bubbled with unease. She hoped that they weren't going to ask for answers about today, knowing that they most certainly would. Of course they would want answers. How stupid could she be to believe that they wouldn't?

Ruby stood for a moment before walking forward. "Hey guys," she said, trying to sound natural and failing spectacularly. "I didn't know you were all still awake."

"We waited up for you," Blake said.

"Oh." The tension in the room was tangible. Her heart pounded in her throat. She did her best to keep her hands from shaking as she set Crescent Rose on her desk. "Well, I'm back now, so you don't have to wait any longer." It sounded so unnatural, so obvious that she was trying to forego the coming conversation. They exchanged a knowing look.

"Ruby, why don't you sit down?" Yang invited, indicating the bed next to her.

"Okay, give me a minute." Her voice sounded quite unlike her own. She dressed slowly, wishing only to disappear, away from the coming conversation. She felt their eyes on her as she changed into her pajamas. Eyes closed, she took a deep breath, then turned around. Sure enough, they were all still sitting there, looking at her.

Yang smiled warmly and patted the bed next to her. "Pop a squat."

Ruby walked tentatively over to sit next to her. Once she was facing the group, her nerves doubled. She thought she might be sick.

"So…what's up?" _Stupid_ , she thought. She knew exactly what was up.

"Ruby, we've been…" Yang paused as if searching for a word. "…concerned, for your well-being."

"Concerned?" she squeaked. She stared resolutely at her hands, refusing to make eye contact. "Why would you be concerned?"

"You've been acting differently since- " Weiss cut off abruptly at the look on Yang's face. "Since we got back from our mission. You've spent more time in the gym, less time laughing at things you normally would, and you haven't been sleeping well."

She was starting to feel a little lightheaded. "I'm just thinking about the tournament, that's all. You know, a little nervous."

"Are you sure that's right?" Blake asked shortly.

"Of course!" Ruby exclaimed maybe a little loudly. She looked desperately from teammate to teammate. "Aren't you?"

"We're less concerned about the tournament than we are about you," Yang answered, moving her hand up to touch Ruby's shoulder. She flinched at the touch, inching away.

"There!" Weiss said, pointing at her. "That right there is what we're talking about. Anytime anyone touches you, you act as though we've hit you."

Ruby shook her head. "No, no. I just, I mean, you know I…" She was babbling now, unable to come up with a response. She took a deep breath, readying herself to tell them a truth. Or a piece of the truth. Absentmindedly, her left thumb tailed over the scar on her right hand from where he'd shot her through. "I just, don't like being touched, after what Roman did." The sound of the name on her tongue made her gag. Hopefully they would accept this explanation without further questions. They had all seen the scars on her back after all.

"But that's not all," Weiss said, her eyes narrowed. "We've noticed that you've broken the mirrors a lot lately."

"And today you freaked out when you saw your reflection," added Blake.

Ruby's stomach churned unpleasantly. They had noticed everything. Her lack of sleep, her hatred of her own eyes, despising being touched. They hadn't missed a single beat. Her heart was pounding beyond hard now. She was sure her blood pressure was through the roof.

"With all of this going on, we couldn't help but wonder…"

"Wonder what?" she said sharply, sounding angry when the reality was she was scared out of her wits.

Silence. Then Yang: "Ruby, you would tell us if something bad had happened to you, wouldn't you?"

Ruby didn't answer. Her first instinct was to say 'of course!' and be hurt that they would ever assume otherwise. But the truth was she _was_ hiding something from them. They had seen her scars, and seen her everlasting fear. Yet she had never told them the full story. The thought of talking about it made her head spin. She couldn't tell them the truth, even if they did want to know.

For a short time, they sat there in silence, her teammates watching her and she watching her hands. Finally it was Weiss who broke the silence. "Maybe you should talk about it."

Ruby closed her eyes and clenched her fist. She didn't look up, pretending that if she didn't acknowledge Weiss's suggestion she could avoid what was next. She didn't fool herself one bit.

"It would help," Weiss continued. "It might make you feel better."

"No." Ruby was surprised when her voice cracked. _Don't cry…_ she told herself.

Yang: "Ruby please, be reasonable- "

She was yelling before she could stop herself. Tears were streaming from her eyes. "No!" She was on her feet. "No! I won't do it! I can't."

"Ruby- " Blake tried.

"NO!" Ruby screamed, back away from them. "I won't! You can't make me!"

Yang got to her feet, her hands up in front of her. "No one's making you do anything Ruby, but please listen."

Ruby hesitated on the verge of bolting. These were her teammates, not her enemies. They depended on her to lead them in battle, to have their back when they were on a mission. They deserved an explanation after everything they'd seen. She didn't have to tell them _everything._ Finally she nodded and sat back down.

Yang reached out to put her arm around her again, but seemed to think the better of it. Ruby immediately wished she would, or rather could. It brought more tears to her eyes to know that her relationship with her sister was fractured because of her.

"Ruby, we're not going to make you do anything you don't want to," Yang said. Her voice was saddened, as if she were unhappy too. "But you _need_ to talk about it. It's more than just bothering you. You're not yourself anymore."

"We're you're teammates," Weiss said, sounding unusually soft. "And you're friends." Ruby glanced up. Weiss had called her a friend? Weiss never called her a friend. "We just want to help."

"Imagine it was one of us," Blake said. "You'd be concerned too."

Ruby slouched, defeated. They all waited on her. She could practically feel their eyes watching her, their patience as they let her gather her nerve. Finally, she nodded.

"It all started when Zwei went out to go pee," she began. "I saw two White Fang guards, and decided to follow them…" It was easier to talk about it than she thought. Once she started, it was like she couldn't stop as long as she didn't look at them. If she didn't look, she could pretend she was talking to an empty room.

She was surprised at the amount of detail she could remember. The darkness of the pit underneath her, the feeling of fear when she'd realized she didn't have her weapon, the pain in her head when she'd been kicked. She told them about the bombs and the paladin's, Torchwick's amusement at her weaknesses. When she got to The Room, her hands began to shake.

This was the part she wasn't sure about. Where did she stop? How would she keep them from realizing she had cut a huge part of the story out. To keep them from getting suspicious, she kept going, keeping to the truth as best as possible.

"He tied me to the table with my back up," she told them. "That's when his guard used his Semblance to drain my aura til there was nothing left."

They were staring at her, captivated by her story. Ruby couldn't stand the look on their faces. She didn't want their pity. She wanted to be strong, powerful. Telling them the next part was unbearable. She stuttered as she spoke. "He ripped open my dress, and he-he beg-gan to h-h-hit me with that h-horrible whip."

Only because her mind was so good at it, she found herself back in that room, staring at herself in the mirror. She could feel the cool desk on her face as she banged her head down. Her back tingled where he'd hit with enough force to leave permanent scars.

"He wanted information, and I refused to tell him," she said. "So he shot me through my hand."

She felt his breath on her ear, could hear his voice as if he were right beside her, whispering to her. "Come on, Red…"

She screamed, burying her head in her hands. It was easier to recall herself to the real world. She was not in that room. _She was not in that room._

"Ruby," Weiss said, her eyes wide. "I'm so sorry."

It was Blake's reaction that put Ruby on edge the most. Her eyes were soft, looking at her with an unfathomable expression. "That's not all he did, is it Ruby?" she asked, her voice more quiet than usual.

Ruby stared at the black-eared faunus, her face twisting as she faced reality. Blake knew. Had probably known all along. And the thing of it was, she had come so far, she didn't have a choice of backing down now. She shook her head, knowing she'd have to tell them the truth.

"H-He lifted my skirt and put his…hand down…down my pants." Ruby stared at her trembling hands. "He- he- he…" she couldn't do it. She couldn't say it.

She didn't need to.

"No!" Yang whispered, sounding horrified. Ruby's silent nod confirmed the opposite. "He didn't!"

Ruby heard herself talking, wishing in that moment she was anyone else. "He did…he forced me to…" She trailed off as Yang jumped to her feet, her eyes red.

"I'm gonna kill him!" she screamed. The blonde fighter threw a punch that broke the chair leg. "I'm gonna go up on that airship and I'm gonna break him in half!" Her words were punctuated with hits that made the entire room shake.

"Yang!" Blake exclaimed in shock. At the sound of her partner's voice, Yang seemed to calm down. Her face crumpled as if in extreme pain, tears formed in her lilac eyes.

"Oh Ruby!" she cried. Then she threw herself on her sister without a second thought.

Ruby's muscles locked as she was thrown back into that room. _No no no!_ she screamed internally. _This isn't real!_ She could hear his cruel laugh, see her own silver eyes in the mirror as she was forced to watch.

She fought the wave of panic that overcame her. _This isn't real_ , she thought to calm herself down. _I'm not in that Room, I'm in my bedroom at Beacon. And that's not Roman touching me, it's Yang._

Yang…her sister. The one who'd always been there for her. The very person who probably cared the most about her.

In an instant she was able to break the vision that had taken hold of her mind. She gripped her sister tighter to her. She was sobbing, finally facing all of the emotions she'd been trying to hide. "Yang!" she cried. "I'm so sorry!"

"Why are you sorry?" Weiss asked. Ruby was surprised to hear that her voice sounded thick. "You didn't do this."

"It's all my fault!" Ruby wailed. "I shouldn't have followed those White Fang guards. I should have fought harder. I should have done _something_ to stop him!"

"It's not your fault," Blake said sternly. "The only one responsible is Torchwick."

Ruby winced. "I couldn't stop him."

Weiss: "No, you _did_ stop him, remember? He's in Ironwood's prison."

Ruby stared from one girl to the next. That desolate feeling in her stomach came back. They each looked, in their own way, disturbed. "What do I do now?" Ruby asked, uncertain.

"Well did you tell anybody?" Blake asked. "Did you see a doctor?"

Ruby hesitated. "I did see a doctor," she admitted at last. "But I didn't tell anybody. I couldn't."

"Tell Ozpin," Weiss said at once. "Or Ironwood."

"No," Ruby said at once. "It doesn't matter. Besides, Torchwick's already in captivity."

"What do you mean, 'It doesn't matter'?" Yang asked sounding angry again. "Of course it matters."

"Yeah it does," Ruby agreed quietly. "But I meant that he's already in for life."

They all sat silently for a minute, absorbing the information they had just learned. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you," Ruby said at last, breaking the silence. Her voice was shaking again. "I just couldn't talk about it. I wasn't ready."

"At first, I was really confused when you didn't talk about it, especially to Yang," Weiss admitted. "But now that you have, I can see why you wouldn't. What you endured... I'm really glad you did tell us though, Ruby. You didn't just need to get that out. You need to know, this isn't your fault."

Her voice was shaking, "But if I had- "

"Stop," Weiss said, putting her hand up. "Stop right there."

"It's _not your fault_ , Ruby," Blake said quietly.

Ruby wasn't entirely sure she believed that, but appreciated the sentiment just the same.

They sat in silence for a long moment. Blake had drawn her knees against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them as though to comfort her from whatever thoughts were causing the distant look in her eyes. Weiss was watching Ruby, her eyes narrowed as if she had plaguing thoughts of her own. Yang was staring at her hands.

"What did the doctor say?" Yang asked suddenly, looking around at her baby sister. There was a half-crazed look in her eyes, her voice desperate. "You weren't…pregnant, were you?"

It took Ruby a moment to absorb that. "No!" she said, trying to come across as reassuring and instead sounding disgusted. She cringed at the mere thought of such a thing. "No, I'm fine! Just got some sleeping pills."

Yang sighed in relief, her fists clenching. "Okay. I'm still gonna kill him. But okay."

Once again, they were all quiet. Ruby had had enough. Her brain was still going haywire from the revelation she'd just made, and her stomach was churning from all the times she'd been forced to suck back vomit. The amount of effort it had taken her to break the illusions her mind liked to play when Yang had held her had cost her quite a lot of energy. She was done. All she could do now was sleep. And maybe she would tonight. Hopefully nightmare free.

"Look guys, I really want to go to bed," she admitted. "I'm tired, and it's late."

Blake nodded. "Yeah, that's sounds like a good idea. You should get some rest."

"I have to study," Weiss said. "I can go to the library if you'd like."

"No no, it's fine," Ruby shook her head. "Really, it's okay."

Weiss stared at her for a long minute. "Library it is," she muttered at last, getting to her feet.

"You really don't have to…" she began, but changed directions at the look on Weiss's face. "I mean, if you want to go to the library, go for it!"

Yang jumped to her feet. Ruby had never seen her look like this before. In that moment, she was more concerned for her sister than she was with what she'd been through. "Yang…?"

"I'm going for a run," her sister said abruptly, and was out the door before any of them could stop her. The three remaining girls stared after her.

"Well," Weiss said after a moment. "On that note." Without another word, Weiss, too, departed.

Guilt bubbled in Ruby's stomach. "I didn't mean for her to be this upset," she whispered to Blake.

"She's gonna be fine," Blake answered her in a soft voice. "It's just… a lot for her to take in. But we're glad you told us." She reached out to grab Ruby's hand, smiling in a reassuring way.

Concern drew Ruby's courage. "You knew all along, did you?"

Blake withdrew her hand, her eyes unusually dull. "I had my suspicions. I may have been in a…" she paused, as though searching for the right words. "…similar, situation," she finished delicately. "I'd recognize those symptoms anywhere." The faunus girl frowned at Ruby. "You'd be surprised at how common it is, especially amongst the faunus people. You're not the only one."

She did not divulge any more information, and Ruby did not ask. "It's a shame," she whispered.

"Yeah, it really is," Blake answered. Her teammate took a deep breath. "Well, let's get to bed, huh?"

"Yes," Ruby sighed in relief. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

"Mhmm." Was Blake's only response. Ruby had a feeling her teammate was lost in her own thoughts again.

The two girls slipped into their separate beds. The darkness of the room around her, the lack of her sister's usual snores, the fact that she'd _finally_ told her teammates the truth…it all weighed down on her, making Ruby more tired than she'd been in a long time. However, she didn't fall asleep right away. Instead, she let her mind wander. She couldn't say her team member's separate reactions to her story were what she'd expected, or wanted. Weiss she could handle, but quite frankly, Yang's reaction scared her. And Blake…she realized in that minute there was so much about the girl she didn't know. She wondered what had happened to her black-eared teammate, what she'd meant by a 'similar situation'. Mostly, she felt a new bond to the girl. While she didn't know everything, the two of them most certainly shared a connection now, one she shared only with Blake.

She pictured her teammates again, always fighting with her, always having her back. It might not have been the best moment of her life, but Ruby was glad she'd told them the truth. They were all very good to her. They deserved to know the truth. And if she were honest with herself, she felt a little less pressure on herself now. She didn't have to act like everything was normal or okay anymore, because nothing was normal or okay and finally her teammates knew.

Her thoughts wandering away to what would happen next, Ruby drifted into sleep, less than peaceful, but not enough to keep her awake.


	2. The Griffon

After a full year of waiting, I finally decided the time was right to finish this! It's been a long year, and I have not had the mickey to write this until recently. But everyone who has commented has told me how much they liked the first two, and how much they looked forward to this. While the others took me ages to write, this one I managed in one day. I'm sure the quality isn't as good, and tbh I didn't do pretty much any editing. But I hope you like it anyway! Please feel free to review, whether you noticed something in my writing that's incorrect or you just want to tell me how you feel about it. Either way I'm excited to see the responses! Enjoy!

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Ruby watched the dragon fly past in almost a trance. She felt the air of it as it blew past her, only a measly two meters from where she stood. It even had a noxious odor, although it was too few and too far to make her gag. Instead she was too busy paying attention to its wings. It was, in its own way, graceful, beautiful even. She wished she could believe it wouldn't do any real damage to her already battered school peers.

Absorbed as she was in the strangely majestic beast, Ruby didn't notice the griffons all around her until one landed not one meter away. She responded instinctively, her weapon glinting as she flashed and slashed, striking at the monster full force. Tired as she was after all she'd been through already that night, she didn't have enough in her to do any real damage at first. Yet once she'd made her first hit, she knew she could take the monster down.

In a few quick slashes, she'd gotten it. The beast froze for just a moment before it collapsed, fading away into smoke, leaving Ruby bent double trying to catch her breath.

It took her a moment of wheezing to realize she was not alone. She turned her head and stared, confusion at the sudden presence of her quiet, new companion before recognition hit her.

Neo took a picture with her phone, then looked at Ruby. There was no fear in those eyes, only a smirk. Neo winked.

…

From below deck, where he was operating the Atlesian airship, Roman felt his scroll vibrate with an incoming message. His satisfaction at having completely wiped out all of Ironwood's air force in one go, and then taken over his ground force _in that same go_ faded away entirely at the image on his scroll screen.

It was a picture of a too familiar face, one he'd hoped would die before he ever had to see it again. Little Red.

"You can _not_ be serious!" he growled to himself, shaking his head and grabbing his scroll. Even with the disgust he felt looking at this girl, he couldn't help but feel a bubble of excitement. Red had given him some of his best memories. Maybe he could milk some more out of it.

Either way he was needed to help Shaking his head, Roman turned to join Neo up top.

…

Ruby slashed and sliced, trying to catch even her evasive adversary's foot. Any hit would be better than no hit at all. But Neo was too fast for her, too swift. Ruby could not keep up.

She anchored her weapon into the ground, pointing at the sneering face. Ruby pulled her trigger, blasting two energy blasts straight into the girl's chest.

The image shattered, revealing a face she'd hoped to never see again in her lifetime. Before she could so much as cry out, Roman fired two shots that hit her directly in the stomach, sending her flying backwards.

Around her, the world tumbled as she rolled. Colors bled together, sound seemed to disappear. All she had was her grip on her weapon. Instinct took over. She lashed out with Crescent Rose, using all her strength. The blade pierced the side of the ship, abruptly changing her roll to a drag. She went at least another 20 meters before coming to a halt.

Ruby felt a violent urge to throw up, and not from her recent tumble. Of course Torchwick was _here_. He had been on the ship all along. How could she have forgotten that _this_ was the ship he'd been confined to?

A wail built in her chest, silence by the fear that took her breath out of her chest. Images of what Roman had done to her flashed in her mind. She couldn't catch her words, only could stare. This was the face that had starred in her every nightmare, the face that had crept up behind her whenever she looked in the mirror, or hugged her sister, or even when she closed her eyes. His voice tortured her ears from afar, his hands (warm despite his cold heart) which caressed her so carefully that it hurt. She didn't want to again feel his touch on her bottom, his fist in her hair. She didn't want to see the pure bliss on his face as he'd thrust into her, his wet cum dripping down her leg. She could still smell it after all this time.

She had only just gotten her life back together after all of this. Only last week passed her last psych evaluation put forth by her therapist and gotten her team into the tournament. It had been Blake's idea to talk to a counselor on campus, although it had risked her team being unable to fight. It had been vastly worth it. Finally she could sleep through the night again. Finally she could look at herself in the mirror and feel something other than disgust and shame.

Now here she was, looking her rapist in the eye all over again. It wasn't fair, really. Then again, life wasn't supposed to be fair.

She scrunched her eyes up, hoping that if she couldn't see him he wouldn't be there. His boots thumping heavily against the hull of the ship was a sharp reminder the contrary was true. There was no air in her lungs. She opened her eyes and gasped, looking up at his face six feet above her. His leg was so close to her face.

"Little Red, Little Red…" he mused, almost entertained by the look of fear in her eyes. "You are just _determined_ to be the hero of Vale, aren't you?"

"What are you doing?" she asked against reason. "Without these ships the Grim will destroy everything!"

"That's the plan!" he laughed, raising his weapon. Her arm lashed out without her permission, throwing his shot off course a mere second before he fired. The heat of the blast blistered against her skin, but her aura surged to protect her.

She gripped her weapon as she pulled herself to her feet. This time, she would not let go of it.

Neo appeared out of nowhere, taking a flying leap. Ruby thought for one precious second that the multi-color- haired girl had overshot, missing her target and soaring past, but it was never that easy. Her foot snapped out, catching Ruby's cheek and sending her sprawling into the dusty side of the hull. Ruby managed to get to her feet in time for Neo to deliver a kick to her stomach. She didn't have time to recover as Neo finished off with a tornado kick straight to her chest.

At least she managed to stay on her feet this time, but only just barely. She turned, facing her foes with a startled look.

"But _why_?" she asked, voice rising in pitch as her panic mounted. "What do you get out of it?"

Roman's eyes bored into her, venomous in their own right as they bit into her very spirit. "You're asking the wrong questions, Red," he answered her, voice as sharp as his gaze. "It's not what I have to _gain_. It's that I can't afford to _lose_."

 _What's wrong with you?_ she thought to herself. _You're supposed to be a leader! Act like one!_

She charged, clutching her weapon tightly. As long as she had her weapon she could win, right?

Before she could strike him, Neo was there, leaping over his shoulder and kicking her away from her true target. Ruby switched tactics, now aiming for the ice-cream chick. As long as she had Crescent Rose, she could do anythi-

To her surprise, Neo hooked onto her weapon. She had no time to react, no time to stop it. Her opponent slipped under her, breaking her hold on her weapon and sending it flying away. Ruby lost all sense of direction as the girl kicked her, hard. She flew forward, only to have Roman's own weapon hit her in the face. Another shot from his weapon that sent her flying after her Crescent Rose.

At the last second her hand shot out, her fingers curling around her weapon which she clutched to for dear life. To her horror, her feet made no contact with the surface of the ship. Clinging desperately to her weapon, she was left dangling in midair over a heard of Grim.

"I may be a gambling man," Torchwick's voice came to her, surprisingly close. "But even _I_ know there are some bets you _just_ _don't take_."

Ruby looked up, not surprised to see Neo standing over her, holding her parasol at arms length like a sword. From it's tip came a long needle-like blade.

 _How has it come to this?_ Ruby asked herself. _How could I let it get this far? Even_ with _my weapon, I can't stop him from doing what he wants. And now he's going to kill everyone._

His rant continued. "Like it or not, the people who hired me are going to change the world!"

A nevermore came up from underneath Ruby, headed directly for her. She lashed out, kicking at the beast with both her feet, just enough strength to send it away.

" _You_ can't stop 'em, _I_ can't stop 'em," he said so close to her now. Her eyes went up and realization came over her. She couldn't use her weapon, but Ruby could still beat at least one of them.

"You know the old saying, if you can't beat 'em- "

Ruby waited no longer. She extended her arm, careful to avoid the blade, pressing her fingers on the button that clicked the umbrella open. With no more than a startled gasp, Neapolitan took flight, disappearing into the herd of Grim.

She pulled herself up onto the hull of the ship, by no means safe but definitely better off than dangling over the edge. " _ **Neo**_ _!_ " Roman yelled out for the silent fighter, obviously disgruntled by the experience. The look of horror on his face, swiftly turning to anger reminded Ruby of all the things she fought for. How could she ever have felt like giving up? She was stronger than him, stronger than all that he had done. Because despite everything that had happened between them, Roman Torchwick had not broken her spirit. She was Ruby Rose. She was a Huntress. She _would not bow down_.

"I don't care what you say," she told him, feeling her strength returning to her. "We _will_ stop them, and I _will_ stop you. _Bet on that!_ "

She flew at him feeling the strength of her aura boost her, sending her speeding forward in a flash of rose petals.

Fueled by his anger, Roman was ready. He fired a shot from his weapon, but before it could go further than the length of his arm away, he caught it with his hooked cane and threw it at Ruby. The force of it threw her back, but not far enough away. Ruby charged again, determined to defeat him once and for all. He struck, her with his cane, sending her back again, but still she wasn't down. No matter how many times he hurt her, she would never stop getting back up. As she ran at him again, his weapon pressed into her stomach and fired.

The searing pain she felt reminded her so horribly of how bad it felt when he shot her hand. She'd always have that scar to remind her how easy it is to be hurt without her aura to protect her, and now her aura was dangerously low. Still, it was strong enough to keep her alive in this instance.

"You got spirit, Red, but this is the _real_ world!" he yelled, smacking his cane hard into her. "The real world is _cold!_ The real world doesn't care about _spirit_." He leaned down so his face was next to hers, his breath choking her lungs. "But I'm not gonna kill you yet," he breathed. "I'm gonna teach you how the real world treats little girls like you, who think they can do anything they want if they want it badly enough. I'm gonna make you regret the day we met. And then I'll kill you, like every other Huntsman in history."

Ruby shuddered against her self. He meant those words, she knew. More than anyone Ruby knew what he could do to her to break her. She knew in what ways he would hurt her, if given the chance.

His feet thumped around her, in her line of vision. She looked up. Roman was standing over her, looking smug. "As for me, I'll go on doing what I do best." He waved his arm, as if counting the things off. "Lie, steal, cheat, and _survive!_ "

The word had barely left his mouth when it happened. Too focused were they on each other than Ruby didn't even see the griffon until it had gulped Torchwick straight up, swallowing him whole.

She didn't have time to celebrate her biggest enemy's death though. The creature was after her next. It reared up on its hind legs, roaring loud enough to make her slip backwards. But after all that she had been through, facing the griffon was nothing in comparison. She raced towards it, relief and strange energy filling her.

At the last second (and maybe copying from Neo's unusual tactics herself) Ruby jumped, kicking the beast in the head that threw it backwards. She landed on her feet, hearing the crunch of broken glass and the roar of flames. She must have sent it into the engine.

 _Uh oh_ , she thought as the ship wobbled. Without something to power it, the ship was going to fall. _What do I do now?_

Her eyes fell on her weapon, all the way across the ship from her. It was her only chance.

Racing against the failing ship, she burst forward with speed unlike that of her semblance. Confidence, a near giddiness, (spirit?) gave her the strength this time. Around her, the ship began to explode, falling apart as gravity and the excessive damage took over.

She gripped her weapon handle and leaped into the night. It was exhilarating as the wind tossed her hair around. The sensation of free-fall had barely set in when she pointed her weapon straight down and fired. The moment from the recoil threw her higher into the air. If she kept up this process, she could fall safely to the ground and not take anymore damage to her aura.

Finally her feet touched the ground, just at the same time as the ship. She could feel the heat of its final explosion on her back. She whirled around, looking around at all the Grim flying everywhere, not to mention the massive dragon Grim currently at Beacon tower. But she couldn't help the feeling that came to her then. A huge weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders, a huge knot removed from her stomach. It was incredible.

But she couldn't stay and celebrate her victory over her torturer. The school was under attack, she had to find her teammates as she had no idea where they were, and honestly, with her energy she could probably help a lot of people. It wasn't going to be easy, but Ruby was up to it. The time to move on had finally come. Her closure had finally happened.

Ruby was free at last.


End file.
